Whilst there are minor weaknesses, a lot of this film is stunning

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2010)

"Slumdog Millionaire" is, fairly uncontroversially, Danny Boyle's most well received film - but, whilst I did enjoy that film, I felt that this had a lot more in common with "Sunshine", another of Boyle's films, and was all the better for it. Both centre around a focal group of people who are hugely isolated and are having to deal with trauma and death, but also play with both philosophy and art. Regarding the former of these two, the idea of what life is actually worth living for is a prevalent theme and the ideas of utilitarianism, and the savagery of the actual humans (not the zombies) are also called into question and help make this film more than just a drama/horror. There are times when one can even question whether the premise of the film is exploring the idea of isolation, with the zombie element simply being a means to allow this (although I think believing the zombies to be an afterthought to the philosophy would be a little naive on my part).
The latter of the similarities is the artistic element to the film. Thrilling action camera shots and the use of Point Of View camera work make the film highly engaging, but are juxtaposed beautifully by the shots of the emptiness what was once the bustling city of London, with the lone figure of Cillian Murphy (who is very compelling as Jim and is yet another similarity between Sunshine and 28) emphasising the epic nature of the images. Musically, John Murphy (I think my final similarity to Sunshine) provides a beautiful score ("In the house, in a heartbeat" being particularly powerful).
I thought some of the acting was a little weak (namely Megan Burns' 'Hannah', but also some of the army 'banter' was pretty unconvincing - maybe due to poor writing), and I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the ending, but I still highly recommend this film (and Sunshine!) to those who were wary of it simply being a zombie flick; it really is a lot more.